1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to hula hoops and, more particularly, to a hula hoop having an annular, polygonal or floral shape and containing a fluid filler, such as a liquid- or solid-phase fluid filler, within its tubular body while leaving an empty space in the body, thus being improved in its functional effect when used for physical exercise or in play.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hula hoops were initially introduced in the 1950s and have been widely used for physical exercise or in play by men and women of all ages.
However, conventional hula hoops have a simple profile and a simple construction, such that they are made of hollow or solid plastic pipes and have simply annular profiles having fixed diameters. Therefore, such annular hula hoops are not sufficient in their functional effect when used for physical exercise, and so they are only used as auxiliary sporting goods for simple waist exercise. In addition, the conventional hula hoops are limited in their playing method, such that the hoops are simply rotated about the waist, and so most people may easily become bored while playing with the hoop.
In an effort to overcome such problems by improving the functional effect of hula hoops when using the hoops for physical exercise or in play, a variety of hula hoops have been proposed and used in the prior art.
For example, Korean Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 97-467 discloses xe2x80x9cA weight adjustable hula hoopxe2x80x9d. In this hula hoop, a plurality of weight adjusting screws may be selectively set along the inside surface of the hoop body by a user, thus allowing the user to easily adjust the weight of the hoop by adding or removing a desired number of screws. The weight adjusting screws, set along the inside surface of the hoop body, are also used as skin contact tips capable of improving the skin and muscle massaging and stimulating effect of the hoop when rotating the hoop about the waist.
However, the above weight adjustable hula hoop, having a plurality of weight adjusting screws, regrettably has the same simply annular profile as those of the above-mentioned conventional hula hoops, and so the hula hoop lacks effective improvement in its functional effect when used for physical exercise or in play. Furthermore, the weight adjusting screws of the above hula hoop may be insufficiently finished at their surfaces and project toward the body of a user while rotating about the body, thus sometimes injuring the body of the user playing with the hoop.
Another example of conventional hula hoops may be referred to Korean Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 99-3801 disclosing xe2x80x9cA coil ring hula hoop with enforced playing effectxe2x80x9d. This hula hoop is made of a coil ring, and so the diameter of the hoop smoothly varies due to centrifugal force acting on the hoop when the hoop is rotated about the body of a user at a high speed, thus improving the functional effect of the hoop when the hoop is used in play.
However, the above coil ring hula hoop is problematic in that it is not improved in its functional effect when it is used for physical exercise, since it is only designed to improve its playing effect without considering any improvement in the physical exercising effect.
A further example of conventional hula hoops may be referred to Korean Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 99-33378 disclosing xe2x80x9cA hula hoop with skin and muscle massaging and stimulating tipsxe2x80x9d. In this hula hoop, a plurality of skin and muscle massaging and stimulating tips are regularly set along the inside surface of the hoop body, thus improving the skin and muscle massaging and stimulating effect of the hoop when rotating the hoop about the waist at sufficient speed. However, this hula hoop is only a simple modification of xe2x80x9cthe weight adjustable hula hoopxe2x80x9d disclosed in Korean Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 97-467, thereby having problems similar to those described for the weight adjustable hula hoop.
In addition to the above-mentioned hula hoops, a variety of hula hoops designed to enhance their functional effect when used for physical exercise or in play have been proposed and used. For example, luminous hula hoops, sounding hula hoops, luminous and water-whistle hula hoops, and ping-pong ball hula hoops have been proposed in the prior art.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hula hoop, which has an annular, polygonal or floral shape and contains a fluid filler, such as a liquid- or solid-phase fluid filler, within its tubular body while leaving an empty space in the body, thus being improved in its functional effect when used for physical exercise or in play.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a hula hoop, comprising a tubular hoop body having an annular, polygonal or floral profile, with a fluid filler contained in the cavity of the tubular hoop body while leaving an appropriate empty space in the cavity.